Four exciting new releases serve as the comprehensive focus here in this late summer DaveCromwellWrites Feature. Along with trips to the pool (providing opportunity for a growing “pool cast” phenomena), time has been carved out to investigate and ruminate on some of the more thought-provoking new music releases. Old friends and new share space here, with descriptive representations fully accompanied by the music they choose to share with the world.
It’s inevitable that prolific artist Julian Shah-Tayler (a/k/a The Singularity Music) would have new music to experience. A creative who’s always working, his output has been featured here at this site numerous times. Along with his primary focus on a solo career that continues to grow, Julian engages with live audiences through his wildly popular Electric Duke Bowie Tribute show. This latest original music takes things in a darkwave direction, exploring subtle, mood-driven suspense and cinematic atmospheres.
Hard snare-shot drum beat and throbbing bass guitar kick off new song (and video) “Just You Wait ‘Til I Get You Home.” Unsettling melodic tones emerge as video images of a man in a dark coat (looking suspiciously like Julian) moves through film-noir lit rooms, some with tape recorders and cassettes scattered on desks. As vocals emerge with those familiar Bowie-esque tones, a story of laying “awake at night waiting patiently for my nightmares” is told. Shadowy rooms and unoccupied hallways are pulled into view, leading to a running reel-to-reel recorder and the Julian/Darkman holding a dated reel (March 17, 1992).
Midway through shows Dark Julian closing filing cabinets in a grimy, trash-strewn room, as vocals rise in pitch on lines “thinking of you.” With the ominous melody line returning, a chant of “I’m waiting, I’m waiting” arrives, first softly, then more prominent as the beat drops out. Pulsing bass and distant sirens are heard, leading up to a distorted instrumental solo and glitch-cut sonics. As the darkman hunches over his tape recorder, a single “interrogation” chair is again focused on, having appeared throughout the video. Vocals now float with dramatic emphasis on lines “Oh, the things I’ll do to you” and overall theme “Just you wait till I get you home.”
Check out this brilliant new track and suspenseful narrative video here:
Follow Julian all across his Social Media via his LinkTree here.
Previous Features of Julian can be found on This Site - here - here - here - and - here.
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Another musician who is always creating new works is the Baltimore-based recording artist Andres Alfonso Lugo Cruz. While simultaneously producing a number of poetry books, he composes and records music under the name Los Dientes Hundidos en la Garganta (The Teeth Sunk in the Throat). Having already reviewed a number of those works here on this site, a new entry “AL OTRO LADO DEL OCÉANO” (On The Other Side of the Ocean) is now featured. Once again playing all the drums, bass and guitars, ethereal voices are provided by Gene Santiago-Holt aka Moyogash. Inspired by Andres 2024 poetry collection Postropodicea, everything was recorded and mixed at his Where Are We Going studio lab.
Subtle waves of churning ambience rise up from misty depths, as asymmetrical percussion attempts to establish some kind of beat. Heavily submerged voices provided by Moyogash wash through underneath, adding an element of mystery and wonder. The percussion moves about in a natural sounding way, avoiding more rigid, mechanized rhythms. An angelic hue is cast as a wider net of spacious audio fills this sonic field. As this supernatural feel intensifies and expands, the beats (now enhanced by cymbal-like splashes) lay out fractured patterns of dynamics. Never static in their execution, these beats will drop out momentarily, allowing ambient space to command the listeners focus.
Voices float up again into the mix, as waves of flowing textures rise and then slowly recede. What sound like field recording sound bites momentarily join in. Or perhaps not, and instead your imagination is set loose to create these elements from your own internal audio channels. With those synapses now fired, the sensation of being led through a jungle or tropical forest serves as an inspired journey. Voices continue to float through the sonic spectrum as deep and powerful audio washes abound. The tracks final minutes find the percussion getting busier with multi-strike shots rumbling throughout. Wind rushes, distant whistles and throbbing string notes lead everything out to it’s conclusion.
Listen to and find out how to acquire this visionary audio journey here:
Previous DCW features on this artist can be found - here - here - here - and - here.
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One more ambient instrumental collective circling the DCW orbit is Peruvian label Chip Musik Records. They have focused on releasing emerging artists that specialize in experimental and avante-garde music since 2007. A new entry into their catalog is an over 20 minute sonic journey by local project ion axs. Titled “Ceremonia Disoluble Procesión para nevados” (Dissoluble Ceremony. Procession for Nevados), the piece draws it’s inspiration from the Huandoy Nevado mountain range of the Andes. Allowing for a slowly developing experience, words begin to flow from this transformative audio journey.
A deep bass note is the first thing you hear as the piece commences. Slow and deliberate, ominous overtones join in as the bass notes measure out a subtle progression. A steady drone rises and then fades back. Descriptive liner notes indicate a desire to create through sound the immensity of traveling through this stark, beautiful landscape. Combing field recordings with synths and studio manipulation creates a meditative mental state that fuses with natural surroundings. Anyone who has gone on a long journey through mountainous terrain can relate to the hyper-alert, sometimes hallucinogenic feeling you get.
This recording approximates that through its repeated “dissoluble” textures of disintegration. Midway through, the piece introduces additional instrumental elements, like ancient wind instrument know as pututos. These ceremonial trumpets pre-date Spanish culture, going back to the Inca empire.
Deep bellowing and higher-pitched flute-like textures float in and out, while rough-scratch abrasiveness shares space with a steady repeated drum strike. As the audio journey fades to it’s conclusion, the sense of oneness with this geography creates a portal to inner contemplation.
Check out this meticulous introspective adventure (including how to acquire it) here:
At the beginning of this year, DCW was introduced to Italian record label I Dischi del Minollo. Vowing to avoid a single style or genre of music, the company focuses on a wider variety of sounds. While progressive instrumental music served as the initial feature here, vocal rock music is now presented for review. Venice, Italy’s Mother put out a full-length album recently titled “The Stars Within” that draws inspiration from 90’s alt rock and more. Listening to what they’ve created now inspires thoughts on it all.
Leadoff cut “Magic Lungs” kicks things off in full thundering motion. Hyper-strum guitars and speed rolling drums power anxious lyrical emo aggression alternating with melodic interludes. The title comes early with a declaration that “there’s no more magic in my lungs.” Precision sharp turns come locked between bass, guitar and drums with head spinning frequency. Melody arrives more fully on a chorus that states “I'm gonna push, push up daisies, before u will get what I’m saying.”
Second entry “Blaue Reiter” takes a more angular approach, with quick start/stop rhythms between half sung/half shouted vocals. A dramatic pause is followed by tempo change under lyrics “I want to dance the night away, eatin’ sun ‘n’ drinkin’ rain.” It’s impressive how many subsequent hooks are packed within this 3 minute song.
“To You, Red Giant” manages to work in multiple movements in even less than 3 minutes. The initial burst of guitar-riff and drum driven propulsion is quickly paused for a near-acapella harmony vocal asking “how could you love safely. If you never loved your scars?” Once the full chorus is reached, it’s sing-along time on lines “I’m giving you my hand, it can be late to make amend.” Special mention to the momentary bass guitar outburst following the line “you’re cold as stone.” Another interlude soon follows, with one more tempo shift complete with sharp accents and soaring vocals around repeated lyric “is it just a loop?”
Check out the video for this blistering track here:
Other tracks like “Star Rover” also come with an illuminating video combining effective animation with band performance clips. Inspired by author Jack London’s 1915 novel of the same title, a parallel is made between the books story of triumph over physical abuse and their own aversion to meaningless pursuits. Multiple segments blend angsty emo-rock (“Forgotten – At office – In a coffin”) with calmer interludes (“Lay things low”). The songs final minute taps Beach Boys style harmonies and Beatle-esque/Sgt Peppers-like instrumentation for redemptive lines “there are no savings to save,
by now I’m dancing with days.”
Check it out here:
One more song benefitting from video treatment is deeper track “Chamomile,” presented visually as an interpretive performance in stark black and white. Lyrically it portrays the journey of a bands evolution from young dreamers to more experienced adults. “Do you recall listening in that tiny place,
how our lives could change” is the initial question asked. It’s a musical love-letter to their past and present, filled with melody-filled guitar riffs, fluid bass and throttling drums. “Feeling something,
missing something, yearning something, longing for things” leads to the universal query “how will I spend the rest of days?”
Enjoy this one here:
Listen to all the the album’s tracks here, and find out how to acquire it, as well as some cool merch from the band.
As the year 2025 comes to a conclusion, the time to reflect on the music reviews composed and compiled on this website is once again upon us. Each month's entries are covered here in chronological order, featuring the best of the best artists who put out compelling new recordings. Significant live shows attended and associated interviews conducted are highlighted here as well. Before we move on to a new year, dig in to the 2025Best Of DaveCromwellWrites Features.
The above June review included two more song reviews from Sueno con Belugas album "Ataque con rayos electronicos." Reviews here added "Love Evolves" and "Flying High" to the previously covered "Velocidad" and "Mil Recuerdos." Now four wonderful new tracks "Portal," "Sombra," "Colores" and "Trasciende" complete the album. They continue the ambient spirituality of what came before on this dreamy collection. The link below will take you there.
Since the release of Sophie Ellis Bextor’s album “Perimenopop” in September, there is now a Christmas remix of the track “Time” re-imagined as “Christmas Time” (so appropriate for this time of year!) Adding gentle touches of jingles and bells, it also arrived with an emotional official video. In it we see Sophie and her family through the years in Christmas photos, including images of that one period when Sophie hair was entirely blonde. The video closes with a home movie of her grandpa leading the family through the Christmas pudding song and conga line tradition. Very British and all so wholesome.
It’s been a minute since DaveCromwellWrites covered a live show (well, last November to be precise). While all too true that the recent focus has been predominantly on recorded works (not always the case as densely covered live event were a common occurrence on this site, not that long ago), this current feature celebrates a dazzling, multi-performance show. Also included are two distinct interviews (something else that was once as staple here) along with some studio recording reviews as well. It all adds up to yet-another thoughtful and detailed probe into this thing we call “rock music.”
When it was announced that Live Nation was putting on an “Eighties Goth Prom” at House Of Blues in Orlando Florida earlier this month on May 3, the opportunity to catch this event was there for the taking. Headlined by world renowned Depeche Mode tribute band Strangelove, the lineup also included The Cure tribute Lovesong, Not Nine Inch Nails tribute to NIN and The Electric Duke tribute to David Bowie. Having established a prior working relationship with the multi-skilled Julian Shah-Tayler via his solo work, the occasion to see him do his Bowie show and as an essential member of Stranglove was too good to miss. In addition to the performance, an interview was arranged with Julian and all the members of Strangelove. That full discussion follows below, along with a review of their recently released album “Rendition.”
Based out of Los Angeles, STRANGELOVE-The Depeche Mode Experience is a dazzling concert event. Bringing to life the very best DM songs, they draw from the artists 40 plus year career with accuracy and authenticity. Under the guidance of Brent Meyer (a/k/a “Counterfeit Martin”) his portrayal of DM mastermind Martin L. Gore on stage is a joy to behold. Frontman and vocalist Leo Luganskiy (a/k/a “Ultra-Dave”) is both a visual and vocal dead ringer for the charismatic Dave Gahan. Julian Shah-Tayler (a/k/a “Oscar Wilder”) is no stranger to this site, having reviewed a number of his albums here previously. James Evans (a/k/a "In The Fletch") is the bands Andy Fletcher in every similar way possible. Chris Olivas (a/k/a "Chris-tian O-gner") is the quintessential drummer every band would love to have.
The Golden Ticket
Necessary item for a smooth experience
Sitting down with the band an hour or so before they were to perform on this Saturday evening, the Q + A flowed in a professional yet-casual fun filled exchange.
DCW: Getting right to the heart of the matter, where do you see your place in this huge rock and roll music landscape?
Brent Meyer: The Question is do we have any back story beyond being a tribute band entity, because everyone views us in that light – in the context of coming to these shows. I started this project 18 years ago, and some people who’ve followed me from those early days only see me in this context are surprised to discover I do other things.
DCW: It’s the “onion” concept where there is more to an individual than just what you see on the surface.
Julian: And much more to make you cry (laughter all around).
DCW: Leo, what else do you do when not at this? Do you have a solo project?
Leo: Yes, I do my solo work and also a couple of side projects. Something I’ve been pursuing over a decade. Coming from a teenage dream to be the next alternative metal artist. Combining the elements of songwriting and being inspired by bands like Deftones, Korn and an archetypal teenage angst. Other influences are more sophisticated such as the Swedish progressive metal band Katatonia. Focusing on a heavier writing style with the music, but the vocals are very song oriented. As an artist you kind of want it all. To be equally appealing to the common show business factors, but you want it to be beautiful to anybody. It doesn’t matter if it’s techno, synthpop, rock or metal, sometimes you get lucky and discover a band that makes you overlook anything you ever thought you might like. When I was growing up I was in to more electronic music, which is completely opposite to something that is post-punk or heavy music. Then I discovered the band Placebo and it changed how I think of any of that. It was so completely out-of-the-box and it was the right time to discover it. They’re all stylistically different but there is a mood that you feel. For me, it’s the mood and the atmosphere that the band is bringing that matters more than what style it is. So when you are creating something of your own, you end up taking bits and pieces from all of that, while still trying to be tasteful if you can.
DCW: It’s been well-documented that keyboardist Alan Wilder left Depeche Mode due to the lack of credit he was given for all the work he did in the band. Would you agree with that assessment?
Brent: Absolutely. He was basically uncredited at least as co-producer on every album he was involved in. The quintessential Mode albums that defined their sound for most fans.
DCW: When I listen to his solo project Recoil, I hear so many of those distinct audio qualities.
Brent: The sound had all the Depeche Mode signatures, but it moved away from a pop sensibility, that melodic songwriting core, it was more about the atmospherics and sonic landscape. He chose to explore that, and who knows what Alan’s songwriting capabilities might have been in the band, given the chance.
DCW: James, your role as “Fletcher” in the band has playing keyboards and singing back-up vocals. Which do you feel more accomplished at.
James: I think I sing better than play keys. My vocals keep me going while I’m playing one handed Fletch lines. The ironic part was that he had more keyboards set up than any of the other guys, while playing fewer lines.
DCW: I saw Depeche Mode play Giants Stadium in New Jersey back in 1990 with the Jesus and March Chain as support. That was an incredible show, and I believe it was right when Martin started playing guitar with the band.
Brent: It was pretty much right then, that tour and the one before, the “Music For The Masses” one.
Leo: Arguably that might never have happened if “Black Celebration” and “Music For The Masses” didn’t lead up to what they did there. You can hear that stuff in songs like “Behind The Wheel.” If you reverse engineer some of their songs – their callbacks – and what they ended up doing in the future – the melody of “Pleasure Little Treasure” is basically “Personal Jesus” in a way. It’s re-conceptualized with an entirely different impact.
DCW: Do you think that’s intentional, or just a natural occurrence?
Leo: It’s both. Coming from their integrity and style and some of humor about it. Sometimes they’re really mopey and dark, and sometimes they’re really ironic. There’s beauty in that, and keeps you kind of wondering.
DCW: Have you ever met any of the DM band members?
Brent: Yes, absolutely. Martin is a big supporter.
DCW: He likes you?
Brent: He’s spoken very favorably about us in press and print. In a fairly recent press junket in New York Dave was kind of ‘taking the piss’ about how much time he spent watching our videos online.
Julian: Leo and I both worked indirectly with Ava, who is Martin’s daughter.
Brent: I have as well.
DCW: That’s cool. I caught a show by Dave Gahan’s daughter Stella Rose way downtown in NYC a year or so back.
Leo: I’ve seen some of her shows and met her briefly.
Brent: We’ve seen her in tiny clubs.
DCW: And she knows what you do?
Leo: She doesn’t exactly what I do, because it was more of an accidental meeting after one of her shows at Pianos. She’s more involved with her peers and the new generation of younger musicians that might not know about all the older stuff.
DCW: Some do, some don’t. I was always curious about what came before I was alive. There was a period of immersion into 1940’s and 50’s jazz, inspired by Kerouac’s “On The Road.”
Julian: Brent’s degree is Ethnomusicology. He’s the nerdy center of all this.
Brent: We’re both kind of the conservatory of things, with Julian and his Classical Music background.
Julian: We’ve occasionally done shows with a U2 band and they’ll bust out the Passengers song “Miss Sarajevo” and when Brent does the Pavarotti opera solo there is not a dry pair of knickers in the house! (Much laughter all around).
DCW: At one time you were training to be an opera singer?
Brent: I never had any illusion that would be something I could make a living at, but I did want to pursue the training that afforded and follow the through line in terms of symphonic composition. It benefits in terms of arrangement, even though it’s all midi and electronics, it still all directly affects this. Alan Wilder, very much a classically trained musician himself, even stuck little sampled bits into the recordings. The chords that start “Never Let Me Down Again” references Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” There’s also Wagner samples, there’s Mozart Requiem, there’s all kinds of little easter eggs that he’s placed there in Depeche’s music. In fact they had a b-side of him playing Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” straight up on piano, and I think that’s pretty cool.
Julian speaks to the audience
DCW: Let’s talk about your Strangelove recordings, specifically the “Rendition” album. Were you all in the same room when you recorded this?
Brent: Never! (laughter) Our original track and the Depeche songs were all done separately. The only one’s that had any of us physically together were when Julian and I did a live stream of all Martin songs and a couple of those are on the album.
Julian: “Sublime” is the song that Leo and I wrote. I had sent him a couple of tracks and he came up with something fabulous, vocally. We then threw it back and forth continuing to develop it, and then everyone put their parts on.
Chris: That track wouldn’t have sounded as good if I hadn’t gotten my drums on it the way I wanted.
Leo: That’s true. The ideas and construction were because of the combination between a very modern drum sound and a very live one. That’s why in certain moments you notice we kept the drums “naked” – a dry and clean sound.
Chris: When I got the general track, there was no vocals on it. There was maybe only the verse part, and a few other tiny parts to it. I got the vibe though, and put down a John Bohnam-esque beat. A similar feel to what I play on DM’s “Useless” and “Never Let Me Down.” There was a point where I wish I would have added a little bit more later on and do things a little bit different, but overall it worked out well. Eventually they started to cut things up and Leo added his elements of new electronics stacked on top.
Leo: Right. For instance some of Chris’ drum samples are more like a room sound, while others are from places that were bigger. You always want to go back and forth with the blending. Even back to the demos, where you like the original consistency, and combine that other sounds to make something truly unique. You don’t want it to sound like anybody else, and that’s what takes more time. When it clicks with everyone, is no longer distracting and it’s working, that’s when we say “yeah, this is us.”
Julian: I have to give a lot of credit to Darwin Meiners who mixed what we sent him, which was a lot of stuff.
Brent: A herculean task.
Julian: He did such a good job with it and made it sound like we might even be in the same room together to record it.
Brent: Which was definitely not the case. He had to craft all that together.
DCW: “Sublime” is positioned as the album’s tenth entry (with two remixes of it after that). The primary version is a guitar-centric, buzzy ambiance affair with forward drive drumming in support of Leo’s heightened vocals. The “thoughts of loving you/hating you” express universal relationship turmoil. “Let me in - I will disappear with out a trace - when i get what i want” becomes the emotional center. While “The pleasure and the pain - cuts me right out” suggests a release of personal ego, when experiencing the “sublime” of immersing yourself in the one you love. Heavy, chugging guitar leads a bold sonic conclusion that includes soaring vocals and elevated percussive elements.
DCW: Leo, do you write a lot of songs?
Leo: I think it’s safe to say “yes.” It’s an ongoing process for all of us. I can’t really call myself a “musician” (at this point) because you kind of have to be more well-known, but definitely ideas are happening all the time. Ideas, concepts, side projects – until something really clicks with a lot of people – this is when you become an artist. This is where people start putting you in a category “oh he’s a rock artist or a goth artist.” I think of those labels as something like winning an award. You can’t really give it to yourself, it has to be assigned by other people.
Digging deeper into the bands "Rendition" album reveals a treasure trove of audio delights. It opens with a wonderful re-interpretation of “Useless,” this time with emphasis on Brent’s sharp guitar figures coupled with Leo’s surprisingly fluid bass playing. The expressive lead vocals and precise harmonies from Brent and James are of course there. Julian’s keys and Chris’ drums also deliver at the exact levels the song calls for.
Ultra’s “Sister Of Night” leans on keyboards and electronic percussion to support Leo’s passionate vocals (with Brent and Julian background vox). “In Your Room” is essentially a solo track from Julian Shah-Tayler. He plays everything on it and does all the vocals. Having reviewed a number of his albums outside of this band already, the familiarity is not only in the song, but it’s overall production.
“Insight” comes from those “live lounge session” Brent referred to, and features his expressive vocals and Julian’s piano and backing vocals. The ability to bring this song to life in an intimate live setting is most impressive. Fifth entry “Mercy In You” flips the script with a solo piano and vocal performance from Leo. The “Songs of Faith and Devotion” entry becomes even more poignant in this stripped down form. “A Question Of Lust” comes by way of Julian back in his studio, building a solo version of this classic with all the tools and talents at his disposal.
Dipping back into their “live lounge sessions” Brent and Julian serve up an electric piano and synth extravaganza with the recent (2023) DM song “Soul With Me.” Brent’s powerful and expressive voice reflects the original’s beauty with resonance and reverence. Moving over to earlier era DM, 1985’s “Shake the Disease” features all the bandmembers (minus drums) with a stripped down entry. A near acapella version from all four vocalists, the minimal instrumental backing is all that seems necessary.
Final “rendition” is a solo vocal and piano entry of “I Am You” from Leo. Subtitled “Audition Version,” and given the short 1 minute in overall length, one wonders if this was an actual submission to gain entry into the band. Regardless, it’s beautifully done. The first “Sublime” remix comes by way of Julian Shah-Tayler’s recording studio laboratory. Extended in length, all the instruments from the original are stripped away and replaced by an array of synths and electronic percussion. Ambiance abounds with plenty of open spaces, allowing for Leo’s vocal track to stand out a bit more. Final entry is the second “Sublime” remix – dubbed the “Entre Nous Remix.” Stripped once again of all previous instrument, new keyboards and percussion tracks provide a bed for Leo’s lead vocals and the remainder of the bands backing voices. Both remixes are decidedly dance-floor ready.
Strangelove continues to tour throughout the summer and beyond. Check their Official Site for all the dates.
In addition to the Strangelove interview, a second one was conducted on this night with no-stranger-to-this-site solo artist Julian Shah-Tayler, shortly after his opening performance as The Electric Duke Bowie Tribute show. Numerous recorded works of his have already been reviewed here previously, and now the opportunity presented itself to interview the multi-faceted man in person.
DCW: Watching you play piano in your videos (outside of this band) you are very accomplished. Did you have classical piano training?
Julian: Yes, I was classically trained.
DCW: Yes, you also mentioned in a recent video interview that you were also on a path to be a doctor. At the same time as this, were you also getting piano lessons?
Julian: Strangely, my Grandmother was a music teacher, and she was very proud of my uncle who was a doctor. My mother is a lawyer, but she is also very musical. One year she won a Welsh music competition, and was very proud of that. So she would encourage me with music all the time. However, my family would have all liked me to be a doctor, but it just wasn’t my path.
DCW: When did you first start playing piano?
Julian: I was 5 years old. I loved playing instruments and doing musical things, but I didn’t particularly enjoy practicing.
DCW: Could you read the musical notation charts?
Julian: Yes, of course I read music.
DCW: At some point with the emergence with the 80’s synth sound and morphed over to playing these electronic keyboards?
Julian: I’m a little younger than that, so I didn’t really get into synthesizers until I joined this band here, Strangelove. Everything I did up till then was about recording studio work. Brent was previously describing how Alan Wilder would take pieces of orchestral works and include them. I did that as well, without any prior knowledge of what he was doing. I would take Beethoven or Stravinsky or Benjamin Britten and I would stretch my selections to make an orchestral sound for the stuff I did. I didn’t have any synths, only pianos so I would improvise in other ways. Like I would take the sound of a squeaking door, sample it and use that as a sort of keyboard sound.
DCW: At one time were you on a path to be a classical piano player?
Julian: I would have never been a classical concert pianist. I was, I wouldn’t say mediocre – I was good but not great. When you listen to Lang Lang you hear how spectacular and brilliant they are. I was always interested more in composing, and if you want to do that, you don’t become a classical pianist.
DCW: Early on you had the songwriter bug?
Julian: Yes. I wrote my first piano piece when I was nine years old, and my first song when I was 14. I needed to be self-expressive, that was very important to me.
DCW: When did you first make the move to the United States?
Julian: I came over with a band named Whitey, who I co-wrote a lot of stuff with. We had songs in “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad” and we did very well. We went on a tour with Peaches that was really good. So, that’s how I ended up in the USA.
DCW: You originally grew up in Leeds, UK?
Julian: I was born in Leeds, but didn’t grow up there. I went to boarding school in Durham, which was the basis for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter world. I then went to University in York and later moved to London when I was old enough to do the whole thing with music.
DCW: You’ve been a solo artist from your earliest days, but you also do these other projects.
Julian: I like collaborating with people, and especially with very talented writers. If something like Whitey comes along, it helps me learn. The same thing with Leo here in this band. Another I’ve worked with is Tiki Lewis who has really spectacular stuff. If I find people I like working with, that is a welcome diversion. However, it will never be my focus beyond what I do – it will be just another thing.
DCW: It sounds to me like you’ve gotten a number of songs in films, television shows and/or video games. Is that something you put out there to be found, or do you have people contacting you for specific projects?
Julian: Both – all of those things. Currently I’m working on a tv script based around my music. It’s my story, and is a written 13 episode arc. The pilot is fully written, and the next 12 episodes have synopses.
DCW: Do you have the people in place – the contacts, to bring this to life?
Julian: I had all that before the global shutdown of 2020. A couple of production companies were interested in making it. I currently have one production company who is now interested and I’m collaborating with over the next couple of months to bring it to fruition. We will make it happen because I’m fairly confident the person I’m working with has the means to do it.
It was truly a pleasure to finally meet Julian in person, as well as all the other wonderful musicians working on this night.
Also performing on this night was an amazingly accurate The Cure Tribute show by the mesmerizing band Lovesong.
This show was the closest thing to attending a Cure live show, without it being the actual band! Frontman Rusty has got his Robert Smith down in not only sound, but all the physical movements diehard Cure fans have come to know over decades. In fact, the whole band is a precise, well-honed machine that reproduced every song brilliantly.
Even before details were hashed out with contacts in Depeche Mode Tribute Strangelove, a spot at this event was secured via Lovesong’s “win a ticket to the show” contest running on social media leading up to the event.
- - -
Even though ultimately not needed, the gesture was most certainly appreciated (and told them so in a brief chat after the show).
The unanimous consent among anyone who has experienced their show is they are the premier Cure live show out there (other than the actual Robert Smith and company).
Listen to this clip of "Just Like Heaven"
Who doesn't love the achingly beautiful "Pictures Of You"
Or the sheer uplifting joy of "Inbetween Days"
Perhaps it's time to go for "The Walk"
Or get lost in "A Forest"
Nothing captures the balance of doomy wonder than the instrumental passages of "Fascination Street"
I'm glad I got to see "The Cure" this year!
Lovesong continues their tour throughout the upcoming days as well.
Track-by-track reviews of full-length albums and a new video release provide the creative focus for this month of March springtime DCW Feature. Previously covered artists from trusted recording labels have released brand new work that justify attentive listening, followed by deep dive analysis. With the literary details of this review now fully completed, one is encouraged to read along and experience the sights and sounds of these musical artists latest creations.
North Carolina based singer-songwriter Chris Church is no stranger to this websites musical realm. When first introduced by the inimitable label Big Stir Records, the album “Darling Please” garnered a glowing review here. That was followed up a year or so later with a full analysis of the brilliant “Radio Transient.” Now Chris is back with a brand new album “Obsolete Path” which is once again released on the Big Stir label. Exploring the elements of power pop, Americana, hard rock and new wave, a proper listen and analysis of the music created follows below.
You can’t help but set the correct thematic direction by opening your album with it’s title track. Surrounding that proposition with boldly strummed, resonant acoustic guitar chords serve the stated lyrics well. The defiance of concrete and sensible decision making (“refusing to do the math”) is a fork in the road wisdom choice for those who’ve lived enough decades to recognize it. The albums first single release “Sit Down” trades the acoustic for some big time electric guitar work. The drums are loud and forceful and hooky riffs abound all around. Chris adds a processed sheen to his vocals as he ruminates about being “older” and “out of the frame” as a veteran journeyman rocker surveying the current music landscape. The ultimate rebellion in stating “I’m not going anywhere” sits well next to the catchy repeated title line vocal harmony.
Check out this super fun video created by Lori Franklin, featuring Brian Beaver (drums), Lindsay Murray (backing vocals) and some cool mini-instruments!
It’s hard not to think of classic era Fleetwood Mac when listening to what Chris already admits is “perhaps the Lindsey Buckingham-iest song [he’s] ever written” with the reverse-logic romantic “I Don't Wanna Be There.” In fact, with such a prominent, driving bass line, perhaps it’s actually John McVie who deserves some credit as well. The clever lyrical turn is that no matter how enticing a locale, it’s not worth being there without the one you love along as well. Fourth track (and follow-up single) “She Looks Good in Black” is one of those titles that’s so good, you wonder if it came first and the rest of the song then built around it. A slice of almost-country meets Americana, the lyrics make you chuckle. “I had to let go of her hand, She left to see a satanic band, The devil’s got me beat again” is how the opening strains go. Her knowing “exactly what to wear” (along with the obvious black clothing there was “dead flowers in her long dark hair”). Ultimately hoping “she had a real good time” and that at the very least “the evil was sublime” the track itself is a riff and harmony loaded toe-tapper.
There’s a wonderful balance on the lyrically caustic, musically angular alty-rocker (and focus track) “Life On A Trampoline.” The instrumental motion (a churning back and forth) suggests the up and down movements of that bouncing device. However, the lyrics come down hard on those always “saying the same thing,” who’ll “say anything” because “you’re just dying just to be heard” and “live to be seen.” In the end “it’s all the same – no matter what you think you mean – you’re saying the same thing” (over and over). The first co-written track (with his wife Lori Franklin) “Running Right Back to You” emphasizes big electrified power chords, pummel-hard drumming and prominent bass guitar. Sweet harmonies lace the title line chorus, while new-to-this-writer word “limerance” (it means “obsessive infatuation”) provides an opportunity for vocabulary expansion. Bonus points for the heavy metal guitar solo towards the end.
The only non-newly written track comes just-past the albums midpoint with initially penned 20 years ago “Tell Me what You Really Are.” Initially acoustic guitar, singer-songwriter driven, the full band comes in on the second verse and remains throughout. A love song in it’s purest sense, although written from a second meeting years later point of view. Once again, a sinewy electric guitar solo just past the bridge adds musical weight to it all. Old western twang is the order of the day on country-tinged “The Great Divide.” The overall vibe is Glenn Frey fronted Eagles, easy-groove California rock and roll. Even the harmonies roll in like a long lost relative to mega hit “Take It Easy.” A noticeable descending bass guitar line stands out the title explained lyrics “even if it’s the great divide, I’m on your side.”
Another Church/Franklin ("Chanklin?") co-write comes via the first-wave 80’s era computer fascination “I’m a Machine.” The fidgety interplay between bundle-of-nerves guitar chords, bass and drums suggests what a band like The Police did in that time period. This couplet “nothing is too far, nothing is lame, slaying and ghosting, re-earning the shame” sums up the overall lyrical turmoil. The albums third co-write (with celebrated musician Bill Lloyd) “Vice Versa” opens with a gentle mandolin breeze. That quickly morphs into busy prog forms, emphasizing angular guitar figures, tom-heavy drums and counter-melody bass. A song about universal changes summed up with these lyrics “the seasons flow and time is running in a circle (and vice versa).” The gentle mandolin returns for a brief coda, complete with at-that-recording-time incidental studio chatter.
A lumbering noisy guitar and drums stoner-rock progression serves late album (and longest) track “Like A Sucker.” Instrumentally similar to those maniacal live-in-the-studio jams Neil Young & Crazy Horse get up to, the vocal delivery is more contentious. Vowing to be “fooled for the last time,” and not be “just another sucker.” Choosing to close out the album the way it started, the acoustic guitar driven “What Are We Talking About?” is a musically sparse, lyrically focused rumination on – everything. Questions for the universe, delivered with sincerity and perhaps a glimmer of hope for the future.
The album is out via CD and Streaming worldwide on March 28, and can be ordered here at Big Stir Records
Two previous reviews on this site of Chris Church can be found here: “Radio Transient” and “Darling Please.” Which also qualified for each of those particular year's annual DCW Best Of.
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It was less than a year ago when this site did a thorough review the Julian Shah-Tayler (a/k/a The Singularity Music) brilliant recreation/tribute album of David Bowie’s “Diamond Dogs” on it’s 50th Anniversary. The previous year his full-length record of original songs titled “Elysium” was dissected via studious listen and analysis, as well as follow-up single “Fall Apart” six months later. Now Julian is back with a brand new album of all original songs with the curious title “Honne/Tatemae.” Those Japanese words emphasize the duality of life, with the former revealing our true feelings and desires, and the later being what we choose to display in public. A complete track-by-track review of each songs essential offering follows below.
Opening with the album’s brief introductory title track, ambient backward loops rise slowly from the mist as Julian delivers poetic spoken word musings. He states: “In the Isthmus between birth and death, let us illuminate the world with the dance of our brief candle.” That merges into the next (and first full length) track “ForEva,” which initially floats into focus on fluttering wings before stronger percussion, synths and violins provide classical music vibes. Julian’s well-honed Bowie-esque vocals always stand out, while a very active bass guitar powers it all forward. Positive idealism shines through on it’s chorus: “If it takes forever and a day, we’ll watch this world burn away. If it takes forever and a day, you are still my destiny.” Listen here:
A uniquely processed harsh-slap percussion track, prominent bass, metallic-stringed acoustic guitar and an extended note melody serves up third entry “Sufferation.” Vocals are delivered with that romantic croon the aforementioned Mr. B (along with acolytes like Cy Curnin of The Fixx) have done for years. Julian puts his unique touch by adding original ambiance on line endings (“through nowhere,” “life mare,” “foreverywhere,” “this love affair”) and on the dreamy chorus. “We’re lucid in our daydreams, suffocate in moonbeams - our separation . . . dislocated through our sufferation.”
Fourth entry “Malicious Intent” adds buzzing synth behind previously established high production values focused on quick keyboard stabs matched to sharp percussion and violin textures. A scathing warning at a “second rate mediocrity” who “started a war” to “make it stop” before this reciprocal “intent” will be forced to “burn it all down.”
Check out this Darwin Meiners mixed, Kaiber AI video for this song here:
A mechanized robotic undercurrent shares space with sheering guitars on fifth track “Bleed.” Although static in it’s forward progression, there are touches of electric funk (in that way Kraftwerk sometimes does). Especially on the chorus, which goes “Cause I don’t want to see you bleed no no no, don’t want to see you bleed.” A studio recording allows for creating vocal arrangements, which at times finds the singer taking alternating lines, approximating a duet with oneself.
Just past the records midpoint is the tom tom drums driven, slower burn groove “Turn To Stone.” Julian’s vocals are much less Bowie-styled, but instead closer to Simon LeBon in pitch, register and phrasing. In particular when going to falsetto on bridge sections that go “and those colors turn to grey, and these words have nothing to say.” The chorus “In the dead of night on the long way home, you suffocate and turn to stone” approximates the aforementioned SB’s mid-range. A lovely ambient change towards the end features unique keyboard textures, acoustic guitar and original repeated vocalizing on the words “You ARE.”
As previously mentioned, a detailed review of initial single (and this album’s seventh track) “Fall Apart” was presented here on this site at the end of 2023. Read all about (and listen to) this classic 80’s style keyboard-synths driven song of heartbreak right here.
Mysterious vibrations and plucking dulcimer sound usher in eighth entry “Fisk.” Open space allows vocal phrasing to flourish, while classical violins provide necessary emphasis. The chorus dabbles in electro-funk, with poetic lines “of all the fish in the sea, the biggest is me,” and “of all the birds in the sky I swoop and I dive.” Essential repeated line “I’ll turn the pressure on” leads everything out to it’s ultimate conclusion.
Angular synth figures dance in mathematical sequence on the cleverly titled “Buds an the Bes.” As suspected, that title gets fleshed out to it’s universally understood meaning on a chorus that states “Before you get down on your knees - How do the birds and the bees?” The answer to that comes in the form of two more questions, “Do they sing when they sting? Do you still sing?” An unanticipated distorted electric guitar enters the fray, counter-balancing the prior electronic rhythms.
The albums penultimate track comes with the creatively vocalized “This Charming Life.” Rolling out stylized “do do do do do’s” (sounding like otherworldly children), a David Sylvian-esque instrumental groove moves everything forward. Julian frequently moves his voice into a falsetto register, both solo and harmonized with himself. “You know I can light up the sky with fire,” stands out as essential repeated sentiment.
Julian brings in heavyweight Bowie-band instrumentalists Mike Garson and Carmine Rojas, as well as the prolific David J for final (and albums longest) song “Lights Out.” Moody and piano sprinkled, a busy calypso-like percussive and rhythmic undercurrent is just one of numerous unpredictable elements. Garson’s jazzy piano and the overall willingness to expand traditional song structures is reminiscent of Bowie’s own later period work. David J is a master at dropping in a simple, yet so effective standout bassline (like the one that powered “So Alive” via it’s catchy-hook end-out on that hit). Busier bass guitar segments may also be the result of Carmine Rojas’ inclusion. This post-apocalyptic story turns on it’s hook “after all the love is gone, will the last one on this world, please turn the lights out?” Doubling down on this sentiment, Julian concludes with the spoken word narration “we will be erased like a face drawn in sand on the edge of the sea.”
Previous DCW Features on this artist can be found here, here and here.
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A recent notification that one of Sunday Records finest bands The Proctors had put out a new video was certainly motivation to investigate. It was only last August when this site reviewed a number of tracks from their most recent album “Snowdrops and Hot Air Balloons.” Revisiting one of the standout songs from that album, a full video treatment is now given to “You and me and the sea.” A new opportunity to give full attention to both this recording and it’s fresh imagery inspires the words below.
As the band is shown walking around world-famous “Brighton Palace Pier” (an English amusement park with similar historical qualities as Brooklyn’s Coney Island or New Jersey’s Asbury Park) the songs opening strains chime into focus. Female background vocals are the first voices heard, gently singing about how “it’s just a reflection in the water.” Shots of the band playing their guitars are intertwined with footage of the ocean, seagulls and carnival rides. Male lead vocals seek out a “rescue remedy” for “broken hearts.” Poetic seaside lyrics continue as “castles in the sand built by hearts of stone that could not understand” are remedied by an offer to “close your eyes and take my hand.”
Capturing the adventurous joy of a day at the beach and arcades with your friends (or in this case, your band), emotional feelings are also present too. The heart-tugging pre-chorus bridge displays this perfectly with the lines “we listen to that song, it felt like we belonged, something felt so right that day how could it all gone wrong?” When that chorus hits, its title-line simplicity is all that is really needed. However, a second line (and repeat from the intro) “it’s just a reflection in the water” acknowledges how these memorable moments are often fleeting and ephemeral. Just past the mid-point allows for a layered acoustic, electric and bass guitar instrumental segment. Footage of the band in front of the Pier’s many sights (graffiti walled walkways, telephone booths) and attractions (mini-duck games, exotic ceramic cats, the crazy mouse ride, merry-go-rounds) add fun to this guitar, synth and vocal hooky composition.
Check out this wonderful song and video here:
Follow The Proctors via their Social Media on Facebook and Instagram
Dave Cromwell has been writing about music since the dawn of the internet age. In addition to the steady flow of features here on this site, he has been a regular contributor to The Deli Magazine (both Print and Web) since 2010. With numerous Print Issue cover features and weekly contributions on the Deli website, scores of artists have received the Cromwell point of view. Along with ongoing contributions to this site and The Deli Magazine, Dave has written for Dingus, My Social List, The Waster, Spin and Rolling Stone magazines.
